Here We Go Again
by Faxisthegreatest123
Summary: A new challenge for the flock: getting an actual highschool education. Takes place after Fang, as if he didn't leave, but *hopefully* not as cliche as it sounds.
1. Chapter 1

**I probably shouldn't be adding another fic to my list, but hey, I've been sitting on this idea for a while now. This first part in italics is almost exactly what James Patterson wrote in chapters 80-83 of Fang. I do not own Maximum Ride, its characters, or its books. **

"_There's nothing anyone can do. It's too late. I'm sorry." Dr. God's sentence made no sense, even after reliving it over and over again. It simply did not compute, and never would. _

_I shoved Dr. Death away and turned to Fang. _

_ I wanted shake Fang's shoulders, splash cold water on his face, tug on his hair. I stared at him. The parts of his face that weren't purple and bruised were not… life colored. _

_ It just didn't make sense. _

_ I couldn't look up. Fang's hand was cold and limp in mine. _

_ With his pale face looking dead in my hands, my fingers clenching his ragged hair, all I could see was random images of Fang, _not dead.

_ "Fang! Come back! Wake up! Snap out of it! I am going to kill you if you die on me!" _

_ I put my mouth to his ear. "Did you _hear _me? Dying is _not _on the agenda! Not part of my plan!"_

_ I pounded on his chest. "Get up! After everything we've been through, are you going to give up now? Are you that much of a wuss? We need you, you butthead. _I _need you. I-I _love _you, Fang!"_

_ I was choking on dry sobs. "Did you _hear _that? Why I didn't I tell you before? You can't die before I tell you that. You _can't_."_

I jolted awake. My cheeks were tearstained. Three nights now, I've had that same nightmare.

My eyes involuntarily shifted to Fang's bed. The moon light cast a shadow where his face should have been. Instead, Fang's bedding was the only thing sprawled across his sheets.

Panic automatically rose. He wasn't there.

Numbly, I got out of bed. Years of instinct told me to check on my flock.

I peeked into the dark hallway and saw nothing. Always a good sign.

I tiptoed a little ways, and stopped at the door just to my right. Slowly I turned the knob, and bright flashes of pinks and purples assaulted my eyes. In the center of the room Nudge and Ella both slept soundly. Some of the initial panic vanished.

I continued down the hall, and stopped at the next doorway. Pure white walls blinded me; the sounds of Iggy and the Gasman snoring deafening my ears. More of my panic cleared.

My least favorite room was last to check. Angel and Dylan were both out cold, and I couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through me, seeing the smirks on their sleeping faces.

Angel, her smirk was no doubt because she was dreaming of ways to someday take over the world. That was normal for her. Dylan, though, I didn't even want to think about what kind of dreams he was having.

I still had to keep my guard up around Dylan. One second he's trying to win me over, the next he's plunging a needle in his veins. I let him stay with us because he has so much to learn, but that doesn't mean that I have to trust him. That doesn't mean my flock has to trust him either.

Dylan and Fang were always at each other's throats, for example. We tried forcing them to share a room, but that idea was squelched the minute that Fang had his hands constricted around Dylan's neck.

Angel was really the only one who trusted Dylan, and she voluntarily moved her stuff into his room. No one was really complaining… we were all happy to have the duo out of our hair.

My mom had offered Fang her room, not on board with the whole "teens in love sleeping in the same quarters" thing. Naturally, I refused to let Fang take the masters, and we both agreed to keep our actions "appropriate". Above all else, he was my best friend, the one who would do anything to protect me. He also happened to be the guy I was in love with.

Shaking my head, I quietly descended down the stairs. I couldn't _actually _be in love, could I? Yeah, Fang was amazing, and yeah, I felt complete around him. That doesn't exactly spell out love, does it?

Oh, God, who am I kidding? I freaking admitted that I love him on more than one occasion. I was a little loopy the first time, and the second time I thought I had lost him… I shuddered. I couldn't risk losing him again, under any circumstances.

_You love him, Maximum. But, he's not the only one you love. Think about it. _

_ Thanks for that, Captain Duh! _I snarled. Way to be helpful voice, clarifying the obvious.

Shuffling feet startled me before I could think of any more snide comments. I slid into a fighting stance, just as my challenger appeared. It was…

"Mom?" Slowly, I relaxed. "What are you doing out here? You scared me half to death!"

She smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, Max. When I can't sleep, I bake. I didn't mean to startle you."

I took in a shaky deep breath. _Not erasers, just my mom,_ I thought to myself. Still, adrenaline cursed through me.

My mom must have mistaken the look on my face. "I made cookies," She offered. "Now that you're up, would you mind taking them out of the oven in a bit? I'm more tired than I thought."

I nodded, and my mom turned toward her room. "Max," She called over her shoulder, "There's some dough leftover in the fridge. Don't eat it all."

I laughed. My mom was the greatest. "Goodnight mom."

Even after I was asked to watch the cookies, I felt the need to sneak into the kitchen like I was on a mission.

I observed the left, then the right, and bolted down the stairs. My feet slid a little on the entry, and I grabbed the fridge handle to keep from falling.

An evil smirk spread across my face. I was standing in the cool air of the fridge, inches away from the huge tub of leftover cookie dough. I almost melted right there. I inhaled spoonful after spoonful of the sticky mix and nearly collapsed in contentment.

"Couldn't sleep?" A smooth voice called, making me jump.

"Nope," I tried to say. The dough in my mouth made it hard to talk, though, so I resided to just shaking my head.

"The same nightmare?" That's Fang for you. Mr. Right to the point.

I nodded meekly. "Where were you?" I attempted to ask. Instead it must have sounded like "Were wa goo?"

Fang tried unsuccessfully to keep the smirk out of his voice. "Flying, obviously."

"Wang, hat's rang-ranger-" I swallowed, "Dangerous. You should have asked!"

"I'm going to listen to someone with cookie dough on their nose. Yeah, right." He said, exasperated.

I frowned. "Fang, there is no cookie dough on my nose."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" What was he up to?

"Well, maybe you need to check again." My jerk of a boyfriend said, laying his index finger on my nose. I couldn't believe him! How dare he put cookie dough on my nose! It's such a waste!

Gradually, I scooped a handful of the sticky dough into my hand. "I didn't think I had any on my nose, but I can see that you have a little smeared right… here."

Fang did not look happy with me, but he looked kind of cute with chocolate chips stuck to his cheek.

He grinned. "Very funny, Max." Knowing Fang, he'd want revenge. He would never just let me off the hook.

The dough was starting to make my nose itch, so I warily turned the sink faucet on. Fang simply smirked.

Just when I thought it was safe to scrub my nose off, I froze. Raw egg fell into the sink and down my back. As calmly as I possibly could, I twisted around to face Fang.

Holding his sides in full out laughter, Fang was obviously in no shape to defend himself.

"You," I warned, "Have 3 seconds to get out of my sight _or else._"

"Okay," He grinned. I knew that grin all too well.

Without warning, Fang disappeared from view.

"That's not what I meant!" I hissed.

"Sure it is," His voice called. I whirled around, ready to strike, but my fist hit empty air. I growled. "Where are you?" Of course, he chose then to stay silent.

I was close to going insane from the quiet, when something behind me rustled. I happily pounced, pinning a now visible Fang to the wall.

"You caught me," He faked disbelief, "Now what?"  
"Now, I get revenge!" I yelled, revealing a can of whipped cream. Fang was quiet, but I swear I saw him gulp.

Showing no mercy, I covered him in the cream. It looked funny, seeing Fang with black on under all of that white.

When I was finished, he kissed me out of the blue. I dropped the can is surprise, but ultimately just when with the sudden gushy moment.

Somewhere in the background, I heard something beeping. I didn't pay it a second's thought, until started to smell smoke and was drenched in water from the automatic sprinkler system.

My mom and the flock rushed in, looking shaken. It took them a few minutes to realize that there was no actual fire, and everyone was on their way back to bed. My mom was the only one who stayed behind.

"My kitchen!" She cried, beyond rage, "Look at my kitchen! I said you guys could stay here because you said you needed somewhere else to stay, and this is how you repaid me!"

"Mom, we can explain!"

She held up her hand. "I don't need anything _explained_, Max. I need to know what in God's name do you have to say for yourself!"

"I didn't eat all of the cookie dough," I tried. My mom wasn't buying it.

"That's it!" She exclaimed, "Jeb was right! You guys need more to do, so I'm enrolling you all in school."

**That's it, for now. What did you think? Review; tell me if it's worth continuing, if you would. Thanks! You guys are great, as always! **

**~Faxisthegreatest123~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Minor editing completed.**

**Finally, I'm updating again. I don't know how this chapter will work out, but we'll just have to see. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, its books, or its characters.**

My mom was practically foaming at the mouth after her little announcement. She continued to scream about the mess we made of her kitchen, and ordered Fang and I to clean it. Truthfully, I had never seen her so worked up about, well, anything.

When the kitchen was clean to my mom's liking, Fang and I showered and were sent off to bed.

My shower took about 30 minutes more than needed, simply because hot water usually helps me think. I mean, my mom was seriously going to send my flock to school. We had been through that once, twice if you count the time I tried to educate their sorry butts, and neither time really worked out.

I, sadly enough, was still undecided about everything, even as I jumped into bed. There were a lot of things that I could trust my mom's judgment on, but this was not one of those things. I mean, I knew my flock like the feathers on my wings; my mom couldn't say the same.

Sighing in my pillow, I basically gave up on all chances of sleep. Being leader means taking one for the team.

"Max," Someone called.

"Whaaaaa?" I groaned; my face buried in my pillow.

Calloused hands were placed on my back, strong fingertips rubbing slow circles that felt just so dang _amazing_.

"You need to chill out." The motion stopped, and I swear I almost whimpered. Maximum Ride _never _whimpers.

"That felt really good, Fang." My hands found his, and I attempted to force him to continue. My boyfriend though, wouldn't budge.

Somehow, Fang managed to turn me on my side, and then pry my face away from my pillow.

"Hey," I protested.

Fang smiled a real, mind blowing smile. "Hey."

"That felt really good," I said again.

"That's good."

For a few minutes, neither of us said a word. Finally, I asked, "Fang, can I sleep now?"

"Max, you know you're not going to sleep."

I groaned in response. Stupid Fang thought he knew everything.

Out of the blue, his mouth was on mine. I sighed in content, my arms wrapping around his neck.

When he pulled away, a goofy smirk was plastered on his face. "I love you, Max. Get some sleep." With a final squeeze of my shoulder, he climbed into his own bed.

I'll admit that I would have been freaking out about what he said, had I not been so exhausted. I simply mumbled an "I love you too" in response, and fell asleep.

_Something smelled delicious. Delicious and chocolaty. When the wind blew, I caught a slight hint of vanilla. My only thought: Is this heaven?_

_I blink and a picnic blanket is lying beneath my feet. I lay back, surrounded by a sea of chocolate chip cookies. _

_I sigh in content, and when I open my eyes, Fang is lying beside me._

_For the longest time we just lie there, staring up at the stars. Then, slowly, I do a very un-Max-like thing. I kiss his cheek, my mouth lingering, and whisper in his ear,_

"_I love you." _

"I love you," I repeated aloud. My eyes opened a crack, and I lazily looked up. A scream of surprise escaped me.

Dylan smirked, still standing over my bed. "I love you too, Maxie, but your mom wants your lazy butt downstairs."

"Don't call me Maxie," I sneer, pushing him away. My tone sounded threatening, but no doubt my blush thew Dylan off.

"Whatever you say, Maxie." That idiot boy finally did something smart, after that comment. He ran.

With even less motivation, to you know, move at a normal pace, I took my time walking down the stairs, each one at a time. A snail could have beaten me to the table.

Everyone in the house was already halfway through their breakfast, but I continued to take my sweet time. I almost laughed at the glare my mom giving me. I was kind of proud. I always knew I got my glare from somewhere.

Finally, I plopped down next to Fang, my entire flock trying not to laugh. Even Fang was smirking a little. I allowed myself only a smile before bumping my shoulder into Fang's, a signal to stop playing games.

My mom cleared her throat, taking the time to glare at me one last time.

"Guys, I think it's time that you start school. It'll be a new experience for us all."

Everyone froze.

"Are you serious, Dr. Martinez?" Nudge asked.

She assured us that she was 100 percent serious, and Angel squealed.

Now, all at once, someone had something to say. Angel, Nudge and Ella screamed and squealed about such a "golden opportunity", while the boys tried to talk my mom out of it. Dylan was the only one who stayed out of it.

Naturally as leader, I had to take control of the situation. With a whistle, everyone paused their conversations. Ultimately, the leader decides what is best for her flock, and my choice was made.

"We're not going to school!" Iggy and the Gasman high fived, and the girls looked confused. Fang came over and patted my back, basically telling me that I did the right thing.

"Max, that wasn't a question. I mean it. You guys are going to start school."

No one tells Maximum Ride what to do. I was just about to tell my mom off, when Dylan spoke up.

"Come on, Max, hear her out. School can't be that bad." Yeah, and people weren't supposed to have wings.

**I don't know, I kind of like the end… a little. I don't love it though. Hmm… was Max a little OOC? Maybe it was Fang… **

**Review? Tell me what you thought? **

**Thanks,**

**~Faxisthegreatest123~**


	3. Chapter 3

**It's been a while, I know. But here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

On my list of horrible places, malls were 3rd. The school and hospitals were still the worst hell-holes known to man, in my opinion, but obviously malls weren't far behind. I would do anything, be anywhere else, if I could. The world just hates me, though, because guess where I ended up going?

That's right. I was forced to go to the mall, to shop for back to school clothes. Yeah. Even more reason to hate shopping.

"Do we_ have_ to go, Max?" The Gasman whined from his seat.

Nudge groaned, tired of our complaining. "Yes, we have to go! I mean, this is shopping. _Back to school shopping_. This is of the utmost importance!"

I'm pretty sure we all wanted to wipe that smug look off of her face. The Gasman happened to let one rip, doing just that. Our laughter at Nudge's new expression was short lived, though, because let's face it; Gassy had some serious issues going on.

The whole van was gagging before long. Windows were opened all the way, and that still wasn't enough to clear the stench.

When the smell was finally gone, everyone sighed with relief.

"That was so _not_ cool, Gazzy." Nudge cried, slapping him.

Iggy smiled. "Nudge is right. That wasn't cool. That, my friend was pretty darn awesome!" they exchanged a perfect high-five. I shivered at the accuracy.

"Boys," I muttered from the back. Only Fang and Dylan heard me.

"Girls," Dylan retorted. Fang simply shook his head, his hand gripping mine. Nonchalantly, I laid my head on his shoulder. He kissed my hair once, before turning to look out the window once again.

My eyes were just beginning to close when Fang shook my shoulder. "We're here." He announced with disgust.

Chuckling a little, I climbed out, Fang's hand still in mine. My mom raised an eyebrow at us, but said nothing. Instead, she pulled out a large wad of cash. In each person's hand she placed $200.

"Mom, this is a lot of money."

"Yeah, like, over…" The Gasman did a little air math, "ten thousand dollars."

"Subtract a zero." Nudge chastised.

"A thousand dollars, then." He paused, "Right?"

I nodded, ruffling his hair. He gave me a grateful smile in return.

My mom grinned. "I know it's a lot, but you guys deserve to be spoiled."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts," she said, to which the boys laughed. Her glare silenced them, then she continued to rattle off the different group pairings.

Ella and Nudge happily ran off, promising to be back before 5. Personally, I think 3 hours was way too much time to shop, but apparently I don't know anything about the way the mall works. Whatever.

My mom began to usher Angel and The Gasman inside, determined to make sure that they didn't waste their money on toys or anything like that.

Iggy quickly grabbed Fang's shirt, pulling him away from the van.

I scowled a little. "I thought mom said you and Dylan would go together, Iggy."

Stopping dead in his tracks, Iggy faked a surprised voice. "What I was thinking, breaking up the love-birds? I mean, you are only together 24 freaking 7." His tone hardened. "Seriously, Max. You're leader. Whoop-di-do. Get over yourself."

"No, Iggy, you get over my foot, which I'm about to shove up your behind for talking to me like that!"

"Bring it on!"

I stormed over to him, my hand already curled into a tight fist. "What was that?"

His hands clenched as well. "I said bring it on."

Steam had to be pouring out of my ears. "You asked for it!" I brought my fist back, not really wanting to hit him.

"Maximum Ride!" My mom yelled, "Let Iggy and Fang go off, huh?"

I gave her a blank stare.

"Now!"

And just like that, Iggy won.

**AN: Firstly, that whole Iggy and Fang thing was not figgy. I don't support that kind of stuff at all. Just saying. Also, I won't just leave it there. Everyone in the flock had different, um, experiences, so by all means, read on! **

Nudge and Ella

"And Max claims that 3 hours is enough time!" Ella giggled, shaking her head playfully at her phone.

"I know; it's already almost time to go! There is so much more shopping we could have done today!"

"Hey," Ella defended, "I wasn't the one who insisted on going to _Claire's_ just one more time. How many headbands do you need?" She elbowed her friend humorously, before heading to the check out.

Nudge groaned. "Just let me look for another minute, Ell."

"Okay, okay, I'll wait."

Getting lost in the various accessories, Nudge didn't notice her friend's disappearance. Turning around, the teen searched a little for Ella, and spotted her standing just outside of the doors. A group of 3 or so guys had circled her.

In horror, Nudge watched as one of the boys lifted his shirt, revealing a sleek, black gun. Inaudible words were shared, and suddenly fear could be seen in Ella's eyes. The boy with the gun motioned to his friends, all of whom stepped closer.

Nudge's heartbeat was hard and painful in her chest. Her friend, nay, her little sister, was in trouble.

She found herself wondering what Max would do. Never show fear, she decided, and create a distraction. But what would suffice as a distraction?

A lone cart caught Nudge's eye. Something connected, and an opportunity presented itself. Perfect aiming allowed the cart to sail through the store window within seconds.

Ella was safely out of the shattered glasses way, but the boys surrounding her weren't that lucky. They fled the area as soon as the glass broke. What cowards.

Grabbing the other girl's hand, Nudge and Ella ran as well. They raced to the van waiting for them in the parking lot.

The white metal felt familiar and somehow safe to Nudge. She sighed with relief, leaning against the warm vehicle.

Ella began to giggle, causing Nudge to bubble with excitement as well. What an adventure that was!

Angel, the Gasman, and Dr. Martinez

Looking down at her purse, Angel frowned at the lack of money in it. Just under 3 hours ago, $200 was there. Now, it was all gone, spent on school clothes. Shopping was fun, Angel admitted, but having wandered over to the toy section, she wanted just one last item. A little black dog on one of the shelves caught her eye. The stuffed Scottie looked something like Total, without the wings that is. She just had to have it.

That was the problem, though. With no money, how was Angel to buy the toy? She _could_ influence someone to buy it for her, but Dr. Martinez didn't like the kids to use their special powers.

But Dr. Martinez wasn't around. And what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her, right?

Checking for her brother, Angel rounded to the next aisle, where a man and his son stood looking at dolls, of all things. Gassy and Iggy both claimed that their dolls were called action figures, but it was the same thing Angel.

The 7 year old sighed, instantly catching the adult's attention.

Kneeling to her level, the man asked, "What's the matter, sweetie?"

"Mister, I don't have enough money for this toy, and it would really mean a lot if you would buy it for me." Her eyes pleaded with him, but her feeble charm didn't work on him.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I just don't have the money either. I'm sorry."

Angel's eyes focused on his with unwavering attention. "You will buy this one little toy for a sweet girl like-"

"There you are!" Someone yelled from behind Angel.

Startled, she swung her head around. Lightly, she yelped, "Dr. Martinez!"

The kneeling, middle aged man shook his head. His eyes found Dr. Martinez's, and he smiled a robotic grimace. "Dr. Martinez," he droned, "Please, let me buy you this little stuffed dog."

Now it was Dr. Martinez who was troubled. "No, thank you. Come on, Angel." She began to tug at the girl's hand.

"I insist!"

When she declined once again, the man stepped forward, pressing his hands onto her shoulders.

"I must buy you this."

His grip must have tightened, because the mother cringed under his hands. Afraid to look away, Dr. Martinez whispered, "Angel."

Understanding what was to be done, Angel released her hold on the other adult's mind. He instantly released his hold on Dr. Martinez, looking very confused.

Without looking back, Dr. Martinez gripped Angel's wrist and dragged her away. When the duo found the Gasman, she pulled him along as well.

Marching them to the parking lot, Dr. Martinez unleashed a full out glare. Angel and Gasman responded in nervous laughs, afraid of what punishments they would receive. After all, was that amount of fun really worth its consequence?

Fang and Iggy

"Blue?" Iggy asked, "You are trying on a dark blue shirt? Are you feeling okay?"

Fang grumbled a little, leaving his friend to himself for a few minutes. Iggy chuckled to himself, amused by this fact. Because, come on, Fang in dark blue? It was hysterical idea, well, to Iggy at least.

To pass the time while Fang was gone, Iggy felt around the racks of clothes, noting the color of each fabric he touched.

"Blue, black, red, white, purple," He paused. This next item didn't feel like fabric. It felt like, well, paper; brown paper. Someone's lunch, maybe?

Wrinkling under his hands, Iggy located the opening of the bag and pulled out its contents.

A green, dirty feeling revealed just what the mystery item was. Money; lots and lots of money. The stack of greenbacks was almost thicker than his could hold, Iggy observed.

What should he do with this money? Report it to someone? Keep it? Oh, the supplies he could buy with this amount of cash!

But, that seemed wrong, even to Iggy. He began to put the stash back in its place, when people began to shout. The shouts grew, until Iggy could recognize the rough monotones of two police officers. He could feel their breaths, warm on his neck.

"You have a lot of nerve, showing up here with another man's hard earned money!" One of the officers chastised. The other one remained frozen behind the thin strawberry blonde.

"I didn't rob anyone, I swear!"

The man behind Iggy sneered in his ear, "That's what they all say!"

"Seriously-"

"What's going on here?" Fang's voice interrupted the misunderstanding. Iggy shivered at his brother's deadly calm tone.

"How do you know this man?"

Nothing was said. Finally, Fang reasoned, "Just let me explain, officer."

Both men and Iggy waited in silence. Then, "You see, it went like this-" And a punch was thrown. One officer was down for the count, leaving Fang, Iggy, and the second cop, who was shaking so hard he was about to pee himself.

With two blows, Iggy successfully knocked the other officer down.

"We run?" He asked.

"We run." Fang confirmed, his feet already pounding against the linoleum.

Alarms sounded when the boys bounded out the doors. Fang's shirt had never really been purchased, his old shirt left behind. But the boys didn't stop.

They ran until the store was far behind. When the white van was in view, both Fang and Iggy stopped, panting for breath. The moronic mall security was out of sight by now, outrun by the two thin boys.

High-fiving, both Fang and Iggy smiled slyly. That was quite a rush.

Max and Dylan

Looking at the clock _again_, Dylan sighed. It was almost time to get going. Where was Max?

As the thought crossed his mind, Max walked out of the dressing room. Dylan smiled, liking the way her jeans looked.

"You look nice," he complimented. The look on Max's face was priceless. She blushed, mumbling thank you under her breath.

When nothing else happened, Dylan reached out to tuck stray hair behind Max's ear. She slapped him away, her face turning a different shade of red.

"Don't touch me, please," She whispered, attempting to brush past Dylan. He grabbed her wrist, forcing her to face him.

"I'm your perfect half, Max. Just accept it."

Her lack of protest fueled Dylan to inch closer. Slowly, as if not to scare her away, Dylan pressed his mouth to Max's. Was it just his imagination, or was she going with it and kissing him back?

Whether Dylan was hallucinating or not didn't matter the minute that Max froze. He pulled away, confused by her reaction.

Her brown eyes hardened, her mouth forming words that echoed in Dylan's head. "I can't do this. Not to Fang."

Just like that, she walked away, over to the empty check out area. Then, without a backwards glance, she ran in the direction of the car, leaving Dylan behind, wondering what in the world he was going to do with her.

**Okay, so it took me forever to write this. I had to word it all in a way that I liked, and it took longer than I expected. Sorry for the wait. But, was it worth it? Review and tell me? **

**Did you guys like the different groups? Yes, no? I can't tell if you don't review… please? For me?**

**Thanks so much for reading!**

**~Faxisthegreatest123~**


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